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Wood and Its Uses

People have used wood for millennia for many purposes, primarily as a fuel or as a construction material (1) for making houses, tools, weapons, furniture, packaging, artworks, and paper.

Wood has been an important construction material since humans began building shelters, houses and boats. Nearly all boats were made of wood until the late 19^th century, and wood is in common use today in boat construction. Engineered wood(2) products are becoming a bigger part of the construction industry. They may be used in both commercial and residential buildings(3) as structural and aesthetic materials. This includes products such as glued laminated timber (glulam)(4), laminated veneer lumber (LVL)(5), etc. These engineered wood products are more environmentally friendly building materials and generally cheaper than alternative building materials. They may also be selected for public swimming pools or ice rinks where the wood will not corrode(6) in the presence of certain chemicals. In buildings made of other materials, wood will still be found as a supporting material, especially in roof construction, in interior doors and their frames, and as exterior cladding(7). Wood, which is used for construction work, is commonly known as lumber in North America. Elsewhere, lumber usually refers to felled trees, and the word for sawn planks(8) ready for use is timber. Wood is also commonly used as shuttering material(9) to form the mould(10) into which concrete(11) is poured during reinforced concrete(12) construction. Wood unsuitable for construction in its native form may be broken down mechanically (into fibers or chips(13)) or chemically (into cellulose) and used as a raw material for other building materials such as chipboard(14), engineered wood, hardboard, medium-density fiberboard (MDF)(15), oriented strand board (OSB)(16). Such wood derivatives(17) are widely used: wood fibers are an important component of most paper, and cellulose is used as a component of some synthetic materials. Wood derivatives can also be used for kinds of flooring, for example laminate flooring.

Wood is also used for cutlery(18), such as chopsticks(19), toothpicks, and other utensils like the wooden spoons.

Wood has long been used as an artistic medium(20). It has been used to make sculptures and carvings(21) for centuries. Wood is also used in printmaking(22), and

for engraving(23). Certain types of musical instruments, such as the guitar, the violin, the clarinet, the xylophone and others, are made mostly or entirely of wood.

Wood has many applications and is one of the most abundant(24) natural renewable resources(25) found on earth. Due to its renewable nature when paired with regular silviculture practices(26) wood has the potential to solve or to be used for many problems humanity may face. Future applications of wood include:

bioenergy electricity, biodiesel fuel, new lignin glue applications, recyclable(27) food packaging, rubber tire replacement(28) applications, anti bacterial medical

agents(29), and high strength fabrics(30) or composites. As scientists and engineers

further learn and develop new techniques to extract various components of woods’ structure, new more advanced products will appear on the marketplace.